Musings of a Virgin

This can up in conversation and it seems like its a big holiday in some countries but while I had heard about it, I've never really known what its all about and which countries celebrate it. So I looked it up and here's what I found.

Boxing Day is a holiday celebrated in Britain, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. It falls on December 26th, which is also St. Stephen's Day.

St. Stephen was a little known saint who achieved eternal fame by being the first Christian to be martyred for his faith, and he met his death by stoning.
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In England, this day has become part of the celebrations, of being with family.

A day to visit other relations, and to have a rest from the day before, to play fun games. Some families, buy a new game each year, but still bring out the old favourites :-)

For some it is good to have the 2 days, as on one of the days you can visit with your parents, and the other day your inlaws :-)

St Stephen is the patron saint of horses, so Boxing Day became associated with horse-racing and hunting. Other sports are also held on this day like football and rugby.

Here's the link to the whole explaination.

So basically Boxing day in its basest form is simply an extension of the christmas holidays. And now you know. :)

Posted by emyln on Wednesday, December 21, 2005 at 8:54 AM | Permalink